A Peek Inside My Holiday Party

It took 5 years to have an official gathering at my house but Friday night, it finally happened! As a perfectionist with annoyingly high standards, I’d put too much pressure on myself to have our house perfect before we had more than just close friends and family over and I now realize how silly that was.

Houses are meant to be lived in — not perfectly pinnable, artfully decorated masterpieces. And I have Joey to thank for kicking me in gear, setting the date and inviting all our friends and family before I had a chance to backtrack!

With a Spotify playlist of soft rock hits of the 70s playing and our Christmas tree twinkling, Rocky slipped into his holiday sweater, I threw on some sequins and Joey whipped up some (very intoxicating) punch. And with that, our guests flowed in.

After the party started, I barely took another photo — I just wanted to soak up everyone’s company. As usual, my grandparents, Betty and Sharky were the life of the party. No surprise there! I had more than one friend pull me aside, completely blown away that my grandpa was 86! For the record, his secret to a long life is chopping wood all day (in cowboy boots), crisp mountain air and the occasional cold beer. Nice and simple.

I spent part of the night having the best conversations with Alexandra about the merits of new Country music, Hawaii, David Duchovny, Marilyn Manson and cheese. Though, not quite in that order. I am so glad she’s in Portland!

I had pulled up some punch recipes on Pinterest but Joey rejected them for his own mix. One sip later and I was glad he did his own thing!

Me: “Would you like some punch?”
Grandma: “Is it spiked?”
Me: “Yes, with Everclear.”
Grandma: “I’ll take some!”

As all the guests filed out into the darkness, I glanced at our table and thanks to hostess gifts, counted a total of 15 bottles of wine…and I’m not a very big drinker. So, it’s time to plan another party! I’m on a total roll now. Happy holidays, everyone!

18 Responses to A Peek Inside My Holiday Party

i love these pics, it sounds like you had a delightful time!
i used to entertain much more than i do now, mostly because the thought of all the work involved is so daunting but in the end, it’s always worth it!
also- more info in your top, please! it looks amazing.

Congrats to you and hubby on your first party! I’ve never had a party either because I’ve felt my apartment may not be the ideal spot for a lot of guests. But after seeing these fun and festive posts circling, I’ll just need to size down my party and make it happen next year

I’m interested in this “Merits of new country” conversation! I get invited by media reps to new country shows all the time (one of the perks of having a local Chevy client and he only wanting to buy Country Music Stations). Favorites so far: Little Big Town, Randy Houser, Sheryl Crow (Don’t know where to place her, but the 90’s Femenist in me can find no wrong in her music!), and Kacey Musgraves (though she is not very friendly in real life). But seriously, that convo has me intruiged!

Melinda: Two of my close friends who came to the party got into a deep conversation about all the new country they were obsessed with and the best part is that I never knew either of them were into that sort of thing! Overall, both explained that it’s uplifting, feel good music and they can’t get enough of it…and they rattled off a bunch of names of bands I don’t recall now. 😉

Hi, nice to meet you! I'm Shauna, a graphic designer and entrepreneur. I spend my days as the Creative Director of Branch, a boutique design studio. This is my personal blog, which has been going strong since 2007. I'm obsessed with shoes, llamas and traveling. Read more…

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